Adventure Park closed until further notice

The Rural Fire Authority has handed back the Christchurch Adventure Park but it will remain closed until further notice.

The park, which only opened in December last year, has been under the control of the Rural Fire Authority since the Port Hills fire ripped through parts of it.

“Having the park returned to us is only the start of what will be a fairly long make safe and damage assessment process,’’ Christchurch Adventure Park spokeswoman Anne Newman said in a statement today.

An aerial image showing some of the damage to the Christchurch Adventure Park.

“There are extreme tree and rock fall hazards all across the park that need to be addressed before we can fully assess the site. When the park is made safe we will be working with our insurers to assess the extent of the damage.

‘’We will also be working closely with the landowners as the fires ripped through significant areas of the forest causing extensive damage to trees and their root systems. Unfortunately this is not going to be a quick process.’’

Ms Newman said the park was closed to the public until further notice and the public were advised that access to the park was strictly prohibited.

“People breaching this warning will stretch our resources and jeopardise the time to assess and ultimately rebuild the park. We take health and safety extremely seriously. As soon as we have more information on the extent of the damage we will be able to schedule the remedial works and only then will we be able to estimate a re-opening date,’’ Ms Newman said.